“Guess who I am, Granny!” Four year old Nathan ran through his grandmother’s living room with his homemade cape flapping behind him. Holding his head high and stretching to his tippy toes, he was undoubtedly a big, proud bird of some sort.

But when Granny suggested he was an eagle, gliding through the sky looking for a silver-finned fish to eat, Nathan giggled and said, “Noooooo!” He was none other than Batman himself. “Of course,” she thought. Knowing her grandson’s love for superheroes, how could she have ever guessed so wrong?

Emely and her little sister, Madison, had dress up clothes strewn from one end of the playroom to the other. After trying on every piece in the “let’s pretend” trunk, Emely decided to be Cinderella at the ball, and Madison was Star Trek’s, Princess Leigha. Donned in full length gowns and rhinestone tiaras, they glossed their lips, painted their nails, and scooted around in Mom’s high heeled sandals. Their delightful charade continued non-stop until Cinderella and Princess Leigha were ushered off to the bathtub to scrub away their fantasies.

Children are not the only ones who make believe they’re someone else. You and I may not fly through the sky to Kroger or carpool in a horse-drawn carriage, but we can be great posers. We pretend to be a good friend, but can’t resist the opportunity to expose the friend’s weakness. We buy what we can’t afford, because maintaining the proper image is an absolute must. We are faithful church members, echoing an approving, “Amen!” yet all the while, keeping a besetting sin appropriately hidden. Sadly, we wear our own version of capes and tiaras.

If only we could see — really see — who we are, there would be no need to take on artificial identities. The truth is, we’re much greater than what we’re pretending to be. We are more courageous than Batman and more desirable than Cinderella, because of the identity our Designer has given us. The Bible tells us we are created to reflect God’s glory. You and I have a glory that results from being created in the image of God, and it is in the reflection of that glory that we are our truest, most valiant selves. “Christ in me, the hope of glory.”

Have you ever noticed the look on a little boy’s face as he feigns flying through the air with supernatural speed? Have you ever seen the glimmer in a little girl’s eyes as she makes her grand entrance to her imaginary ballroom? Their little faces tell it all. They believe. They believe they are who they are dressed up to be. And so they can fly and rescue the damsel, or smile and capture the heart of a prince.

So it is with us. If we truly believe we have a God-given glory, we’ll be powerful and strong, confident and beautiful. Is there any greater reason to be alive than to bear the very nature of God? As John Eldredge says in his amazing book, Waking the Dead,
“How do we bring God glory when we are sulking around in the cellar, weighed down by shame and guilt, hiding our light under a bushel?”

Believe, my friend! There is no need to pretend to be someone else, when the someone else you’re pretending to be in less than who you really are. As Mufasa says to Simba in The Lion King:
“You are more than what you have become. Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember who you are.”

You and I are the reflection of the glory of God. It doesn’t get any more prestigious than that. No need to play dress up any longer, Beloved. You are more valuable, more courageous, more adored than anyone you could ever pretend to be. Time to trade in the rhinestone tiara for the real thing — a magnificent crown of precious jewels.